Chapter 92 - The Trial (1)

Chapter 92: Chapter 92 - The Trial (1) As we walk the corridor towards the throne room, we meet grandma Theida. She has the tired look of someone who had a hard time sleeping last night. Lovelace has indeed told me she heard the queen restless all night. She had too much to think about, after all. "Dear, I’m sorry for waking up so late. What’s the reason for all this commotion?" "The Pontifex is requesting an audience. He plans to excommunicate our daughter to save Duke Addlington’s skin." The expression on her face changes immediately. From sleepy grandma to resolute warrior woman. "Understood." She doesn’t say anything else. She doesn’t need to. We enter the throne room together, and some commotion stirs up in the audience. It seems that a lot of people had seen the Pontifex coming, and word spread around fast. Among the bystanders there are nobles, identifiable by their clothing choices and their entourage, as well as some rich merchants and some other commoners, though the last ones are few and far between. The Pontifex is in the middle of the room, surrounded by priests of different rankings. Some might be bishops or cardinals? I haven’t learned the regalia of the Church yet. Maybe that’s part of the reason Mom wants me to go to school, after all. I can’t just spam creature analysis on everyone like I do with monsters, so I have to be able to read people’s status from their clothes. Buuuuut... while it’s true that I can’t cast creature analysis on them, even more so in this context, I can cast Appraise Object on their clothes specifically. So I do just that. ---------- Ornate Cardinal Robe ++ A high-quality robe used by Cardinals of the Church of Juno. ---------- Hehe. See? Now I know that those two immediately at the right and left of the Pontifex are Cardinals. The others are further away from him, and the ones with simpler clothes are two steps behind. So, I’ll focus on the three in the center only. As I finish this analysis, king Halinard sits on his throne, with the queen sitting on her throne to the left of him. The rest of us are one step behind the thrones, a little to the sides. "I’m told that Your Holiness was requesting an audience with me. What is the reason for your impromptu visit?" "I come here to ask you to acquit Duke Addlington from any accusations that have been raised against him." "Oh? And why should I do that? The crime he has been accused of is very severe, don’t you think? Kidnapping and enslaving a member of the royal family is high treason." "And it’s exactly because of the seriousness of the accusation that it should be retracted. Perjury is an even higher crime, and one shouldn’t go falsely accusing others like that." "And what if the accusation reveals itself to be true? Are you saying that we shouldn’t seek the truth, Pontifex?" Get him, grandpa!! "You twist the goddess’ words. We shall seek the truth, yes, but the truth in this matter is determined by the holiness conferred to the title of Duke, which shouldn’t be desecrated by the vile mouth of a heretic." Ugh, I can’t stand this man already. He is the one twisting the words. Truth is not something defined by social station. "So, you are accusing the victim of a crime of being the perpetrator of that crime?" "No, I’m saying that she is not a victim, because no crime has happened. She is a blasphemer who has no respect for the goddess and is unworthy of the position she was bestowed upon." I lean near the king and whisper to his ear. He nods, then speaks. "But it was the goddess herself who bestowed her with that position. Are you doubting the goddess’ wisdom?" A murmur of agreement seem to come from the audience. More exactly, from the commoners in that audience. Meanwhile, the Church people are outraged. The Pontifex raises his finger and points it to the king, but the Cardinal at his right speaks first. "That is blasphemy! How can you say that about the highest representative of the goddess in this world?" "I’m just asking questions. You answer them as your heart sees fit. Each ear in this room will interpret your answer as they wish." That was a score for the king. Grandpa is so awesome! "Are you denying that your daughter committed an act of heresy by marrying another woman? And that you committed another one yourself by creating a law that allows it?" "Love is not an act of heresy." "You are not the one in charge of deciding what is heresy and what is not!!" "No, but I’m the one in charge of dictating the laws of this country that everyone should follow. Everyone. No exceptions allowed." "The Church is not your subject for you to dictate the laws we should follow." "And the kingdom is not yours to do as you please." Damn, this discussion is getting thick. I can only imagine the European Middle Ages, a king headbutting with the church like this, before the reformation was a thing. The king would not survive that in our world. And we didn’t even have a System for the Church to blackmail everyone into compliance. Here, if the kingdom has a major fallout with the Church, we could be completely cut out from the System, which would make us an easy target for the neighboring kingdoms. Well, I’m not really sure if they really have that power or not. But, in any case, we need to shift back the discussion to the Duke. Better safe than sorry. It’s good to draw the discussion out of the theme of Lillian, but we shouldn’t do it by making it a King vs. Church standoff. "In any case, we are losing sight of the matter at hand here. If Duke Addlington committed a crime, he shall be punished accordingly. Do you disagree with that proposition?" Thank you, Grandma Thieda. You are awesome as well. "An accusation made by a heretic should not be taken seriously." "You sidestepped my question, dear Pontifex. Do you agree or disagree that someone who committed a crime should be punished accordingly?" "King Halinard, rein in your wife. Women shouldn’t be allowed to speak when men are discussing." "Answer THE QUEEN’s question, Holy Pontifex." The emphasis on the title is very ironic, seeing how much the holy man was glazing over the Duke’s title beforehand. It’s a queen that’s talking to you, motherfucker. Answer my grandma! Now! "And what matter of question is that? Is obvious that criminals should be punished. As should heretics be. And the words of a heretic should not count in a serious court." And back we are to the start of the circle. This is giving me a headache. "Your Holiness, if I may ask you a question... if Princess Lillian’s words aren’t to be accounted for, whose words would be?" "The words of a person who is not a heretic, of course." That’s my uncle butting in. Where is he planning to take this? "Even if he is a commoner?" "Even the prayers of the commoners are heard by the goddess." "Thank you, Your Holiness. You bring them in." Another commotion makes waves through the audience as Shalia enters the throne room, bringing in three people. Three familiar faces. Overseers from the slavers’ den. One of them I even know the name of, Andrey, the one who took me to the Duke the first day. Oohhhh, this is getting interesting.